Quito, Ecuador

I spent one week in Ecuador prior to a wedding in Quito. We went on day trips from Quito, including an overnight at the Papallacta Hot Springs resort. The climate was gorgeous with the hottest time being around noon with temperatures in the mid-70s and then dropping down to the 50s once the sunset at 6PM.
Sat. night: late arrival.
Sun.: trips around Quito to El Panacillo (the Virgin), other hills overlooking the city, lunch at Pims.
Mon.: drive to Papallacta Hot Springs Resort, gorgeous drive through the Andes, up up up and then down down down. The resort was a cluster of different cabins, very rustic but with all the amenities you need. The hot springs were in a courtyard in the middle of the cabins and were of varying degrees. I stayed in long enough to look like a prune.
Tuesday: drive to Otovalo indigenous market. It wasn't the prime market day, but lots of stands were open mainly for tourists like ourselves. We stopped on the way to buy some homemade cheese and salty crackers - a local treat.
Wednesday: drive to Cotopaxi. It was covered in clouds and the bus couldn't go high enough to go above the clouds. We went to Hacienda la Cienaga which is a restored colonial farmhouse with a nice restaurant, hotel rooms, and gorgeous gardens. I went off the property and took a tour of a rose business - roses are one of the biggest exports of Ecuador. This company had 42 different varieties and over 150 employees.
Thursday: trip to the family macadamia nut farm. The drive was long - due West and we drove through the mountains and descended down into the rainforest where the weather got much warmer and much more humid. Lunch was great - very relaxing, a hike down to the river and then horseback riding.
Friday: We took the Trole (p.t.) to Colonial Quito and toured around some churches and had lunch at a cafe in the Teatro Sucre plaza. Colonial Quito is a UNESCO world heritage site so there is no new development there. It is gorgeous, but not very touristy - Quitenos use that part of town for all their business, school, stores, etc. so it's pretty authentic. it reminds me of what I think Cuba would be like.
We picked Sergio up at the airport, took the taxi to Daniel's and we all went to dinner at a great Thai restaurant.
Saturday: relax, sleep in, and a trip to the Club to get hair, manicures and pedicures. The wedding started at 7:30PM and was a very touching service. The reception was gorgeous with amazing food, good wine, and whiskey (Ecuadorian tradition). The dancing was a mix of latin music and american music, to match the guests. The music stopped at 4:15AM and we were in bed by 5AM.
Sunday: sleep in! trip to Mitad del Mundo (center of the earth) where you can stand on both the northern and southern hemispheres at the same time. (no pictures, my camera broke on sat. night).
Monday: early departure at 6:40AM to Boston.

a travel blog by Hans Ericsson & Kristen Miller

1 week in Ecuador

Quito, Ecuador

Papallacta, Ecuador